90042 - History of Scientific and Pseudoscientific Ideas (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student will have acquired a thorough knowledge of the main topics regarding history of science and pseudosciences, in their relationship with the philosophical and literary culture, and with the political, social and institutional context. He/she will be able to discuss them effectively both orally and in writing, using the appropriate terminology. He/she will learn to assess the sources and use the critical tools. He/she will develop the ability to perform archival and bibliographic research at a professional level.

Course contents

First lesson: 3 febbraio 2020

Course Location: Via Centotrecento, AULA D. Monday: 1-3 pm. - Thursday: 11-13 am. - Friday: 11-13 am.

Course Title:

The Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Ancient Astronauts Theory.

The course will be focused on the extraterrestrial life debate, from Galileo Galilei to the birth of Science Fiction. Particular attention will be paid to the so-called "Ancient Astronauts Theory", and its relationship between Science, Western and Eastern Philosophy and Religions, Magic, Literature, Art, Movies and Comics, etc.

Course contents:

Lessons 1-3: The Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Galileo Galilei to Jules Verne.
Lessons: 4-6: Life on Mars: Science, Pseudoscience, Spiritualism, Theosophy.
Lessons 7-9: Aliens in the Past, The Ancient Astronauts Theory and The Birth of Science Fiction (Wells, Lovecraft, Asimov, Clarke).
Lessons 10-12: Unidentified Flying Object (UFO), OOPARTS (Out Of Place ARTifacts) and other mysteries, between Science, Archaeology, Pseudoscience, Literature, Movies and Comics.
Lessons 13-15: Rocket Technology and Space Science, Project Apollo and The Moon Landing, Carl Sagan and the SETI project, the Exobiology.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

1) M. Ciardi, Il mistero degli antichi astronauti, Roma, Carocci, 2017.

2) M. Hack, V. Domenici, C'è qualcuno là fuori, Milano, Sperling & Kupfer, 2015.

3) M. Ciardi, Galileo e Harry Potter. La magia può aiutare la scienza?, Roma, Carocci, 2014.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

1) M. Ciardi, Il mistero degli antichi astronauti, Roma, Carocci, 2017.

2) M. Hack, V. Domenici, C'è qualcuno là fuori, Milano, Sperling & Kupfer, 2015.

3) M. Ciardi, Galileo e Harry Potter. La magia puo' aiutare la scienza?, Roma, Carocci, 2014.

4) G. Giorello, E. Sindoni, Un mondo di mondi. Alla ricerca della vita intelligente nell'universo, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2016.

Teaching methods

Teaching methods may vary in relation to the number, requests and interests of students. They will include traditional lectures, open discussions, and presentation of papers by the students. Course attendance is strongly recommended.

Assessment methods

The exam will take the form of an oral discussion and the student will be assessed according to the knowledge he has acquired, his ability to provide a clear summary of the topics covered and his critical handling of the material. He will be expected to refer to both the exam bibliography and the texts read and discussed during the lectures.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and material in the exam bibliography and his ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology. A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Evaluation levels:

30 cum laude: excellent performance showing soundness of knowledge, rich discursive articulation, appropriate expression, interest of critical contribution;

30: Excellent performance, complete, and appropriate knowledge, well-articulated and appropriately expressed, with interesting critical contributions;

29-27: Good performance, more than satisfactory knowledge, correct expression.

26-24: Standard performance, essential knowledge, but not comprehensive and / or not always correctly expressed;

23-21: Sufficient performance, general but superficial knowledge; often inappropriate expression and/or confused articulation of speech;

20-18: Poor performance, sufficient expression and articulation of speech with significant gaps;

< 18: Insufficient performance, knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of orientation in the discipline, poor and seriously flawed expression.

Teaching tools

Teaching tools will include power points, web sources, movies.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Ciardi